


Could You Imagine?

by citrusella



Series: Citrusella Tries (And Succeeds!) to Write a Fic Each Day of the Bomb [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: (mostly angst actually), Angst, Episode: s05e19 Now We're Only Falling Apart, F/F, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 21:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15156197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusella/pseuds/citrusella
Summary: Imagination is wish fulfillment. What are some of the things Pearl has imagined?





	Could You Imagine?

"I _could_ imagine it, if you would like me to, my Diamond!"

* * *

At first, they are simple, joyous, like a bedtime story you might read to a child.

"You look just like a quartz! You changed your shape for a day!"

It makes her Diamond happy. That is what matters.

* * *

Next, it is personal, clandestine, for her own amusement.

Her, a Pearl, no owner.

Her love, a Rose Quartz.

They meet. They are free. They are _happy_.

_She's_ happy. It feels strange. Not allowed. _Very_ not allowed.

And yet… completely right.

* * *

"And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone."

This inquiry is what Pearl can only describe as chilling.

They're in the thick of the war. Rose has asked her to imagine what might happen if this war extinguishes all gems on this planet.

She almost misses life before. _Almost._ But considering what they're fighting for, what _she's_ fighting for (heck, in a roundabout way, she thought this whole thing up, anyway), she knows they can't stop.

* * *

After it all, Pearl is typically not asked to imagine.

Why would she be? That's something an owner asks. She has no owner. Her owner was shattered. Yes.

Still, one day, Rose comes up to her, smile plastered on her face, still riding the happy coattails of some time with Greg, not fully realizing how much her recent… decision… is affecting the gem she _used_ to say she wanted to stay on Earth with.

"Oh, Pearl, can you imagine what the future could be like?"

She's not looking for a real answer or she would have gone to Garnet. What she wants is a story, to make her happy, like a bedtime story you might read to a child.

And Pearl cannot give her that, cannot imagine that.

And so she's terse, and she sounds as if she's fighting back tears, when she gives her answer.

"No. I can't."

* * *

Pearl is alone. Her imaginings have turned personal once more, selfish almost.

Her, a Pearl, no owner.

Her love, a Rose Quartz.

She imagines what the future could be like, the two of them free and happy on Earth.

But it's wrong. She's not happy. And Rose is gone.

At its core, imagination is wish fulfillment.

But just imagining it doesn't make the wish come true.

**Author's Note:**

> The poem Pearl is speaking in the war bit is [There Will Come Soft Rains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains), by Sara Teasdale (this month is its 100th anniversary, which I didn't know until around yesterday!). The poem is about nature taking over after a war has happened (and mankind presumably being driven to extinction because of it).
> 
> I hope this fic is the start to a fruitful week!


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